Looking closely, you see some of the runes are very old and were damaged, but someone has skillfully repaired them. With the lack of heat leaking out, and the complete coverage of the runes, you have no reason to think there's any danger from this forge.

"Now that you mention it, I don't think more than one animal attacked at the time. Though there's been a variety of different animals that attacked, like a bear, a wolf, a badger... One kid said a squirrel attacked him, but his dad said he just fell while running in the forest so I don't know for sure..."

Buck turns his attention to the large manor house nearby as the others press the forge worker for answers. He's hoping to find something useful to report back to Sir Gorrid about before they speak with its inhabitant. Does it appear someone is currently home? What are the obvious entrances and exits? Does it seem locked up tight or open and inviting?

Today: Buckthorn rolled 8 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 3,3.  Discern Realities (Manor House) What here is useful or valuable to me?

"I don't think this forge is the source of the animal ire, if that thought had crossed your mind," said Spriggy quietly to Gorrid and the others. "It seems very well taken care of. Especially for a device as old as this one appears to be." Spriggy gave the blacksmith an approving nod. "I suggest we go have a word with Gordon, then go speak with the animals of the wilderness directly."

The manor seems quite normal, other than being fancier than any other houses in the village. A small trail of smoke is coming from the chimney, probably from a cooking fire. The front door it close, with a fancy knocker on it.

"Thank you for your time and assistance.  We'll let you return to your work."
The paladin gestured for the bard to lead the way and followed the group to the manor.

Buck greets the others with a nod outside the front door of the manor, gesturing for someone to approach and knock.

Spriggy took his cue from his fellow party members and when they all reached the manor, he approached the front door. "Fancy," he commented as he reached for the knocker. He gave it a quick rappa-tap-tap and said aloud, "Hello? We are told we should speak to a Mr. Gordon who lives here. It is about the wild animal attacks. We are answering the notice posted with the Phoenix Blades guild."

Idi steps up behind Spriggy when he knocks on the door, standing a step back so as not to crowd the door. He adopts what he likes to think of as a casual and charming manner, ready to back up Spriggy if needed when the door is answered. Although they'd called for adventurers, not everyone responds well to armed and dangerous folk showing up unannounced on the doorstep, and he didn't want things to start off on the wrong foot.

The door open, revealing a man in an ill-fitting butler outfit. "Oh, um..." He clears his throat. "Please come in, I will tell master Gordon of your arrival."

He leads you to a nice salon, before leaving you alone for a moment. You don't have to wait long until another man walks in, dressed in crimson robes. He looks rather old, perhaps in his late forties or early fifties. "Ah, finally! You've arrived! I was starting to worry this problem would linger long enough to really harm the village..."

As he takes his seat, the butler returns with tea and sconces. "Now... I'm master Gordon, owner of Freefield's forge and mill."

Freefield. Freefield... Buck turned the name around in his head over and over trying to think if he could recall ever hearing of such a place. Freecastle, Freemount, the Freewheeling Falls... he scratched his chin as he thoughtfully looked over their host in the crimson robes. After a few moments he gave up and supposed the forge musn't be THAT famous and he settled in to hear what the others had to say.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:02, Fri 15 Apr 2022.

"Thank you for having us," Spriggy replied as he sipped the tea and grabbed a scone. He nodded his thanks to the butler and secretly wondered why the butler's clothes were not properly fitted. Were they new to the job? Did Gordon's old one get attacked by animals? It was impossible to tell, but still something to keep in mind for consideration.

Shifting his attention back to the conversation at hand, he asked, "So, what can you tell us about the animal attacks? We would like to put an end to this problem for you, if possible, but the more information we have, the better." He did not mention that they already got some information from the blacksmith because he wanted to hear Gordon's version of events untainted. He looked for any tells or signs of altered truths while he listened, just in case.

---

Using Discern Realities to try and notice if everything seems to be on the up and up.
20:10, Today: Spriggy Glompgut rolled 9 using 2d6+1 with rolls of 4,4.  Discern Realities - anything fishy going on?

I will ask, "What here is not what it appears to be?"

With Spriggy making the first move on the complimentary offerings, Buck happily takes a scone and immediately starts in on it while helping himself to the tea. As the bard breaks the ice and begins the conversation Buck takes a subtle look around before grabbing another scone and retreating toward the back of the visiting group.

The butler looks rather young, and it looks like his suit tailored specifically for him. Overall, it looks like Gordon is a nouveau riche who's eager to live the rich life, but isn't sure how to go about doing it.

As Buckthorn thinks about it, you realize you don't know anything about this town. In fact, it feels like it's barely lived in, with only the forge have a real 'spiritual' presence. It's clearly a very new town.

"Of course. Well... we've had a few animals attacking loggers every years, but in the last few months, things have escalated. I think... it was two months ago that I think the first real incident too place. A brown bear attacked four logger as they were cutting an old dead tree. At first, we thought they had stumbled on a mother with her cub, but thinking back, the bear was unnaturally aggressive.

Since then, we've had more and more animals attacking people in or near the forest. Some of the farmers are blaming the local druid, but I doubt that. I spoke to lady Oakley a few times, and we had an agreement. We only cut what's needed to build our houses and a few dead trees for fire wood, and we replant three saplings for each tree we cut. Since my forge is magical, we don't need charcoal, so we don't need a lot of wood.

If something caused lady Oakley to change her mind, I believe she would have communicated with me, rather than send animals to attack us."

"Did anything else happen in the month or so before the attacks started to increase?  Any change in the forest?  Anything new in the town?  Anyone pass through?"

The paladin watched the businessman closely, praying quietly under his breath.

What here is evil?

"And not to be indelicate," Idi adds to Gorrid's questions, "but who in town might we talk to that saw or survived one of these attacks?" He sips tea delicately, looking back and forth between Gordon, his butler, and the trappings around them.


I'd like to see if I can get a read on Gordon (or the butler), things may be just as they say but I'm looking for signs that they aren't just in case.
Idi rolled 10 using 2d6+3 with rolls of 5,2.

Since Spriggy already covered "what's not as it appears", I'd like to ask:
- Who’s really in control here? (Could be Gordon, it's his place, but any signs that it's not?)
- What should I be on the lookout for? (Any deceptions etc., if any?)
- What happened here recently? (Maybe nothing unusual, but are there signs of something unexpected?)

There's no sense of evil in the area, and the butler just looks like a young farmer who has only the vaguest idea what a butler is. Gordon himself is clearly the owner of this house, seeing how his clothing seems to match the style of decorations around the room.

"No, nothing unusual I can think of. We're pretty out of the way, so we don't get many visitors, other than a merchant once in a while."

"There was a rumble... like, about three months ago?" The butler says. "It happened when you were away, sir. It was just a small earthquake, so I kinda forgot about it."

"Really? Well, I don't know if it's connected, but it's been a while since I've been an adventurer..." Gordon shakes his head. "Either way, you can find two of the injured in the chapel. Whulfren and Xavion. Xavion got attacked by a lone wolf while cutting wood, while Whulfren was hunting when a deer decided to charge him instead of fleeing."

"And the attacks, they've been in the forest? That is to say, you haven't had any incursions into the town itself, rogue animals coming after people? Just those who have been logging, hunting..." Idi takes another slow and deliberate sip of tea.

"Others will know the wilds and animal nature much better than I," his eyes land on Buckthorn, inviting comment, but continues speaking to Gordon. "But for so many different kinds of beasts to be involved, and so many of them solo attacks. Well, it's strange, isn't it? Not what you hear in the usual tales."

"I think we should go have a quick word with the survivors/witnesses of the attacks, then try and find this druid, lady Oakley. If nothing else, I suspect she would have some insights. And she might know more about the suspicious rumble that coincidentally happened shortly before the animals began attacking." Spriggy actually suspected the timing was not a coincidence. "And if we run into any knowledgeable animals between here and there, Buckthorn or myself can maybe have a chat with them as well."

He turned toward their host, Gordon. "Is there anything more we should know before continuing with our mission?"

"The attacks have been taking place closer and closer to the edge, and the last two were out of it entirely. The town is far enough to be safe for now, but I fear some of the outlying farms could be at risks soon.

Other than that... all I can do is point you toward lady Oakley's grove." He gives you the direction toward a small glade, to the north-west of the town.

You quickly find the chapel, and are lead to a small room where two men are resting. "You want to know about the animals?" The less injured man says. "Yeah, I don't really know what I can tell you. I was cutting a log, when I heard a growl behind me. I turned around, and got jumped by a wolf. The thing was crazy. I managed to land a good hit with my axe, but it kept chewing at my legs until it died." He says, pointing at his heavily bandaged leg.

"Other than being unusually aggressive, did it behave differently in any way?  Did anyone collect the corpse?"

"It may be worth recording locations of all animal incidents on a map, if we can procure one."

Buck quietly mentions to Spriggy so as not to interrupt Sir Gorrid's questioning of the recovering logger.

Replying to Buckthorn, Spriggy said, "That sounds like a great idea. Maybe the head of this chapel has one. Would you like to go ask them? I would do it myself, but I want to try and help ease these guys' wounds if I can."

Then, more loudly so that he was also addressing the wounded villagers, he said, "Please ignore me while you answer Gorrid's questions. I am going to try and conjure up some healing music for you. Idi, is there anything you can do for them too?" He knew Idi had the potential for curative magic, but Spriggy certainly didn't want to assume the man was both prepared and willing to use his divine gifts in this exact circumstance.

Regardless, Spriggy began singing a soft tune off to the side while everyone else conversed.

---

Using Arcane Arts on one of the villagers to "heal 1d8 damage" and "their mind is shaken clear of one enchantment." I doubt the second one will do anything, but I get two effects so I might as well grant two effects.

19:53, Today: Spriggy Glompgut rolled 7 using 2d6+2 with rolls of 4,1.  Arcane Art - Heal villager, remove mind's enchantment.
It works but... "On a 7-9, your spell still works, but you draw unwanted attention or your magic reverberates to other targets affecting them as well, GM’s choice."

19:54, Today: Spriggy Glompgut rolled 6 using 1d8 with rolls of 6.  Damage Healed.

Buck unceremoniously takes leave of the small crowd within the chapel and seeks someone who has or can help him find a local map.

"I can't say, I was just too busy trying to stay alive to notice anything. As for the corpse, I don't think anyone did."

As Spriggy's music soothes the injured men, Buckthorn speaks with with acolyte of the chapel. "I did try to keep track of where the attack took place, but it's difficult to narrow them down on a map..." He draws a general map of the area, though it's somewhat bare. "No one ever bothered to draw a map of the place, since we're so out of the way. And there's not that many major landmarks in the area. As best as I could figure out, the attacks happened... here, then here, then here..." The locations are circled, starting in the forest north of town, and moving further and further south with each attack.

As the acolyte points out the last two attacks, he's interrupted by the sound of a broken window, as a large raven bursts into the room. With a loud CAW, it charges at Buckthorn.

Sir Gorrid's sword has cleared his sheath before he's even determined the source of the broken glass.  He swung at the bird with the flat of his blade, hoping to stun the animal rather than kill it.  Unfortunately the creature moved a bit faster than he'd anticipated and he mainly connected with tailfeathers.

quote:

11:05, Today: Sir Gorrid of Torr rolled 11 using 2d6+3 with rolls of 4,4.  Hack & slash - stun bird.
11:05, Today: Sir Gorrid of Torr rolled 2 using 1d10+1 with rolls of 1.